The Case for Christmas

We have a book nook in our local park.  It's like a mailbox where you can put books and take some that are in there - kind of like a free book exchange.  It's not policed at all, so it relies on people's generosity.  Recently I've been wondering and praying about what to do with the evangelistic books in my bookcase. I've been hanging onto them in prayerful hope that one day I'll have such a conversation with someone that it will lead to me being able to offer them a book (and hopefully a Bible).  Sadly, these conversations have not progressed to this stage, but God, in His kindness, prompted me to put them in the book nook.  Of course, there are hundreds of tourists who stop at the park on their travels.

This is one of the books I've recently put in the book nook.  I reviewed The Case For Easter a couple of years ago, and this book is much along the same lines.  In fact, Lee Strobel has written a whole series of short books (The Case For a Creator, The Case For Faith etc.)  Personally, I wonder why he has written so many books which must surely cover the same things?  His best known work is The Case For Christ (and there is now a movie of the same name, based on his journey from atheism to faith in Christ).  Perhaps it because they are short and strategically written for unbelievers.

Part of this book answers the usual questions (such as how do we know the Christmas story is true, how reliable is the Bible?), but another part surprised me. It was about a Jewish man who had become a Christian and now has a ministry among Jews. He said that many Jews have never read the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus, and have been told by their rabbi that the prophecies are not about Him. One of the key ways to challenge Jews is to convince them to read the Old Testament prophecies on their own.  There is no chance that all of them could be about someone else; they are so clearly about Christ.

I pray my copy of this book will make its way into someone's hand and point them towards Jesus - the one who Christmas is all about.

Bible Verse of the Day

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel,” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:23

No Dixie Chicks

Late last month, we had a rare occurrence here....a broody hen!

Dixie gathered nine eggs for herself and I ended up moving her into her own separate nesting area.  Given Solomon is rather advanced in years and I rarely see him with a hen (if you know what I mean), I wasn't hopeful anything would hatch.

Estimated hatching day was last Saturday.  We gave it a couple of extra days before pulling the pin.  Dixie was evicted from her nest and the nine (now rotten) eggs were disposed of.  The door to her special nest was shut, preventing her from going back in.

This is the second time we have tried to hatch eggs supposedly fertilised by Solomon.  A year ago, a friend on the farm tried putting our eggs under her broody hen, but nothing hatched.  I'm sad for the old fella.  I was hoping he would produce an heir....Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.

Even though she sat for three weeks for nothing, Dixie will not give up.  She was most annoyed at being turfed off her nest and went around the yard, puffing herself up and making the indignant cluck characteristic of broody hens.  Today, she was back on the main nest where the other hens lay, stockpiling more eggs for herself.  She was cross when I took them away.

So, it appears I will need to source some fertilised eggs from somewhere if I am to appease my cranky bird.  She gives a good peck!

As Duncan likes to say....a comfortable-looking hen.